Putting It Into Words - The Hard Part

Nantes is a beautiful city and I think it's a great place to study abroad if your goal is to improve your language skills. While people do speak English to you on occasion, I found it to be true far less in Nantes than in other areas of France. Living in a host family is a key part of this program. The opportunity to take classes at the local university with actual French students and professors is possible; however, many choose to take all their classes within the program. While I think their curriculum is very helpful in improving your academic French (reading literature and writing essays/research papers) it's hard to improve your conversational French when the majority of people in the building are other Americans who speak French. Speaking French in the school is a requirement in the building but when you're speaking to people who you share a first language with in another language you can get them to understand your meaning through direct translation. So I felt I made most of my improvement in this area with my host family. A lot of the host families have been hosting students for years so they're very understanding and great. The staff members are always open to helping with any problems or misunderstandings that may arise between the students and host families. Overall, I think the experience was incredible and the friendships I made their will last a lifetime. A couple weeks back in the United States and I already can't wait to visit Nantes again!